THE JOY OF THE LORD

Westney Heights Baptist Church ~ January 14, 2007

Nehemiah 8:9-10 ESV –And Nehemiah, who was the governor,
and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said
to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or
weep." For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.
(10) Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet
wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy
to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your
strength."

The people of Jerusalem were a troubled people.
Their nation had been in captivity in Babylon and Persia for the past 70
years. The holy city of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed, was in the
process of being rebuilt in the face of strong opposition. The surrounding
peoples were ridiculing them, lying about them to the king and doing what
they can to prevent Jerusalem from being re-established. And now, just when
they began to re-discover the book of the law of their God they were
confronted by the awful reality that they had sinned. But when Nehemiah and
the Levites encouraged them to rejoice:

Nehemiah 8:10 ESV –Go your way. Eat the fat and drink
sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day
is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your
strength.

the people responded by rejoicing in the Lord and
celebrated the Feast of Booths, commemorating His deliverance of their
fathers from Egyptian captivity.

Nehemiah 8:12-18 ESV –And all the people went their way to
eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they
had understood the words that were declared to them. (13) On the
second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests
and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the
words of the Law. (14) And they found it written in the Law that
the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in
booths during the feast of the seventh month, (15) and that they
should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, "Go
out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and
other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written." (16) So the
people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his
roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the
square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim.
(17) And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity
made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of
Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very
great rejoicing. (18) And day by day, from the first day to the
last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven
days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the
rule.

There are two thoughts that I want you to
remember from this passage:

1 – The people of Jerusalem were rightly
convicted of their sin and rightly wept on that account

2 – When told that they were to rejoice in the
Lord they gladly celebrated His deliverance.

Upon asking those present to share an experience
of rejoicing in God in spite of troubles or where they felt that they did
not deserve the joy of the Lord the following responses were given:

1 – J. H. spoke on an event at his first
congregation where a death had occurred and the family, while saddened at
the loss of a son, were able to rejoice in the faithfulness of God even in
this tragedy.

2 – T. O. raised his trip to Pennsylvania shortly
after the massacre and the overwhelming peace found within the Amish
community.

3 – J. R. reminded us of the
final verses of Habakkuk and Habakkuk's decision to rejoice in God in
spite of things going wrong.

4 – K. O. commented on the ability of those who
had been wounded to forgive (referring to the massacre in Pennsylvania) and
the grace of God poured out upon that community through the hands of others,
such as area hospitals offering free care to the injured.

Troubles are either:

Result of love – to cause growth, improved love for God, strength of faith

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV –So to keep me from becoming
conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn
was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me
from becoming conceited. (8) Three times I pleaded with the Lord
about this, that it should leave me. (9) But he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the
power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) For the sake of Christ,
then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Result of sin – its consequence or correction

Hebrews 12:3-7 ESV – Consider him who endured from sinners
such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or
fainthearted. (4) In your struggle against sin you have not yet
resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (5) And have you
forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard
lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
(6) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son
whom he receives." (7) It is for discipline that you have to
endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father
does not discipline?

Result of evil – oppression by the enemy and temptation from our own evil
desires

1 Peter 4:12-15 ESV –Beloved, do not be surprised at the
fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange
were happening to you. (13) But rejoice insofar as you share
Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is
revealed. (14) If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you
are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Troubles are never the result of God forgetting about us. NEVER! The Bible
contains so many assurances of His eternal care for His children that we
cannot legitimately doubt His care for us. In fact, it can be argued that
the Bible is a love story, from start to finish giving details of God’s
infinite love for us. Observe from the following passages the depth of His
care for us, each of us, in whatever situation we are:

Deuteronomy 31:6-8 ESV –Be strong and courageous. Do not
fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you.
He will not leave you or forsake you." (7) Then Moses summoned
Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and
courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD
has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in
possession of it. (8) It is the LORD who goes before you. He
will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be
dismayed."

Proverbs 3:1-6 ESV –My son, do not forget my teaching, but
let your heart keep my commandments, (2) for length of days and
years of life and peace they will add to you. (3) Let not
steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart. (4) So you will find
favor and good success in the sight of God and man. (5) Trust in
the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
(6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your
paths.

Luke 12:22-31 ESV –And he said to his disciples,
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat,
nor about your body, what you will put on. (23) For life is more
than food, and the body more than clothing. (24) Consider the
ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
(25) And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his
span of life? (26) If then you are not able to do as small a
thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? (27) Consider
the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (28)
But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of
little faith! (29) And do not seek what you are to eat and what
you are to drink, nor be worried. (30) For all the nations of
the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
(31) Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Philippians 4:6-7 ESV –Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.

Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV –Keep your life free from love of
money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never
leave you nor forsake you." (6) So we can confidently say, "The
Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

It cannot be otherwise than that God cares for us. Using the example that
Jesus used, since God cares for the birds and the lilies which, though
fleeting, surpass even Solomon in glory then He will care even more for us
who bear His image. If this is true then the troubles of this life are not
indicative of His lack of concern for us but are instead opportunities for
us to realize the abundance of His concern and the depth of the enemy’s
hatred. Hard to understand but true nonetheless.

Jesus is very clear that we should not allow our concern for this life to
overwhelm our concern for God’s kingdom. He is adamant to the point where we
are told not to even concern ourselves with clothing, food or shelter. This
may seem a ridiculous idea, especially in this era of concentration on
mortgages and retirement plans, but it has been followed in the past with
astounding success. George Muller, founder of several homes for orphans in
England during the 19th century, relied completely on the grace
of God to provide for his charges. He did not solicit funds nor did he beg,
he simply trusted God to provide his need and the need of those for whom he
cared. In his book “Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians” J. Gilchrist
Lawson has this to say of George Muller:

Greatest of all Muller's undertakings was the erection and maintenance of
the great orphanages at Bristol. He began the undertaking with only two
shillings (50 cents) in his pocket; but in answer to prayer and without
making his needs known to human beings, he received the means necessary to
erect the great buildings and to feed the orphans day by day for sixty
years. In all that time the children did not have to go without a meal, and
Mr. Muller said that if they ever had to go without a meal he would take it
as evidence that the Lord did not will the work to continue. Sometimes the
meal time was almost at hand and they did not know where the food would come
from, but the Lord always sent it in due time, during the twenty thousand or
more days that Mr. Muller had charge of the homes.

Ultimately, over the course of his service, George Muller received 1.5
million English pounds. This was at a time when a pastor’s salary would have
been 75 pounds, annually, so in rough numbers George Muller received
approximately one billion dollars, or almost 15 million dollars a year. All
accomplished by trusting God to provide for his needs.

When we have troubles, whether great or small, our first question is often
“Now what do I do to get out of this mess?” and then we proceed in our human
wisdom to resolve the trouble. We worry about troubles and all too often
allow our worry to drive all other thoughts from our minds. Worry is a
distraction. Worry distracts us from the joys of life. Worry distracts us
from the glory of God. Worry distracts us from Godly living. Worry distracts
us from our faith. Jesus said that no amount of worry could change our
height or lengthen our life. He told us to trust God to meet our needs,
whatever they are, and to carry on with Godly living. “Seek first the
kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus said, “and all these things will be added to you.”
What things? The things we need to live: Food. Drink. Clothing. He told us
that our Father in heaven knows that we need these things even better than
earthly fathers know the needs of their children. He actually made that
comparison that if earthly fathers, being evil, care for their children, how
much more is our perfect God going to care for us.

We have been presented the facts of God’s love for us just as the people of
Jerusalem were re-assured of His love for them. What we must do now is
respond to that love in the same way. We must rejoice in God just as those
of Nehemiah’s day rejoiced in Him, and for the same reason. God loves us and
because He loves us there is nothing that cannot be overcome.

Acts 4:24-31 ESV –And when they heard it, they lifted
their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven
and the earth and the sea and everything in them, (25) who
through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy
Spirit, "'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
(26) The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were
gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'-- (27)
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy
servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with
the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, (28) to do whatever your
hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (29) And now,
Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to
speak your word with all boldness, (30) while you stretch out
your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of
your holy servant Jesus." (31) And when they had prayed, the
place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with
boldness.